Universities - Strike over course cuts
WORKERS, APR 2008 ISSUE
The council of Keele University in North Staffordshire has approved a plan to close most of the School of Economic and Management Studies' current programmes, threatening 38 of the School's 67 academic staff with redundancy.
UCU members at the School and at the Centre for Health Planning and Management have voted to take strike action. The Keele UCU local association has voted in favour of taking action short of a strike and has held several well supported lobbies and rallies since January. The local press has also been giving great coverage.
However, despite the best efforts of members, students and hundreds of others who have emailed the vice-chancellor, the university is still hell-bent on proceeding. The final decision lies with the university council. The local association is asking for support from members across the country for a national rally at the university on Thursday 3 April to lobby the council. The rally will start at 10.30 am.
UCU's regional office said, "It is imperative the university understand the anger by members and students at Keele. It is also, we believe, a pilot for the rest of pre-92 institutions. If they get away with it at Keele, just watch the floodgates open."